What are you reading?

[Kaori]

So What's the Difference? by Fritz Ridenour, a comparative overview of 19 worldviews including Christianity. I can't say I would reccomend this book; even given the fact that the space the author was working with was rather limited (barely over 200 pages), I felt that the treatment of some of the religions he discusses was overly simplistic. Also, several unsupported generalizations, like a passing equation of Pokemon with occultism, shed a negative light on the writer's credibility.

The Death of Woman Wang, by Jonathan D. Spence. The author has conducted thorough reserach, although I am not sure whether the book would be classified as a historical work with literary leanings or a heavily historical literary text. Either way, the author's scholarship is evident, and it is moderately interesting so far.

[Hephzibah]

I'm reading 'Drawing Near' by John Bevere. A very good book that

[Jasdero]

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.. again.. :3

[Technomancer]

'Before the Flood' by Ian Wilson. Basically it examines the Black Sea flood as a possible origin for the Noah myth and also examines its possible role in the history of civilization.

[mitsuki lover]

So What's the Difference? by Fritz Ridenour, a comparative overview of 19 worldviews including Christianity. I can't say I would reccomend this book]
The Death of Woman Wang[/I], by Jonathan D. Spence. The author has conducted thorough reserach, although I am not sure whether the book would be classified as a historical work with literary leanings or a heavily historical literary text. Either way, the author's scholarship is evident, and it is moderately interesting so far.

That must be the updated version of So What's The Difference? The original was written some time in the '70s which would be before Pokemon was created.And why do some people equate Pokemon with occultism?

What's The Death of Woman Wang about?

[Kaori]

That must be the updated version of So What's The Difference?

You are correct. The copy I read is a 2001 edition.

And why do some people equate Pokemon with occultism?

I wouldn't know, since the author didn't make an argument for this claim, just an assertion. The passage in question is as follows:

"Even more popular has been Pokemon . . . cute little toy figures, which actually can entice children and youth to become fascinated with occult powers as they 'summon' the forces displayed on their Pokemon cards" (158).

I hope this doesn't spark a general outcry]What's The Death of Woman Wang about?[/QUOTE]
Another good question. The subject matter of the book is the lives of ordinary people in a small provence of norhteastern China, T'an-ch'eng, during the seventeenth century. The author draws heavily on a few main sources that include the memoirs of one of the county's magistrates and the writing of P'u Sung-Ling, who seems to be a venerated Chinese literary figure. The book contains a great deal of actual historical data, but the author also includes stories by P'u Sung-Ling which, despite being fictional, still illustrate what life was like during that time and place. The final section contains the story for which the book is named: a woman named Wang runs away from her husband and is killed by him when she returns.

[bigsleepj]

I'm still reading "The Shadow of the Torturer" by Gene Wolfe. When oh when will I get the time to finish it?

[Ingemar]

On the Origin of Species: A Facsimilie of the First Edition by Charles Darwin.

[Ingemar]

'From Sound to Synapse: Physiology of the Mammalian Ear' by C. Geisler.

If I may venture a guess:

Sound waves travel through the ear canal and cause the tympanic membrane to vibrate, which causes the ossicles (incus, malleus and stapes) to amplify the soundwaves twentythousand fold in the cochlea. In the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, which is made up of three [canals?] There are also hair cells sandwiched between two membranes, which sense vibrations in the cochlea. Vibrations cause perturbation in the 'hairs' (stereocillia) of the cells, which move tip links that open or close [sodium?] channels, generating an action potential that goes to the brain.


I don't have last term's notes on hand, so that could be a little inaccurate.

[Namelessknight]

In the Forest of Serre by Patricia McKillip.

I love her stuff. I am usually not big on descriptions[E Gouge is an example], but McKillip just draws me in. Probably helps that it is fantasy, but still...

[Technomancer]

If I may venture a guess:

Sound waves travel through the ear canal and cause the tympanic membrane to vibrate, which causes the ossicles (incus, malleus and stapes) to amplify the soundwaves twentythousand fold in the cochlea. In the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, which is made up of three [canals?] There are also hair cells sandwiched between two membranes, which sense vibrations in the cochlea. Vibrations cause perturbation in the 'hairs' (stereocillia) of the cells, which move tip links that open or close [sodium?] channels, generating an action potential that goes to the brain.


I don't have last term's notes on hand, so that could be a little inaccurate.

Substantially correct. My main interest is really in latter stages (hair cell tuning and neural coding), but it helped to go over the larger picture as well.

Anyways, I just finished "The Athenian Murders" by Jose Carlos Samosa

[JoyfulSongs]

Authentic Beauty ~~ Leslie Ludy

[Yumie]

I just finished re-reading about 10 or 11 different books over the past couple of months, my favorites of all those being two of Ted Dekkers books, "Blink" and "Obsessed". (Actually, it was my first time reading "Obsessed" now that I think about it.) Good books.

[mitsuki lover]

Robotech #7 Southern Cross.Like what I have read so far and also of #6 as well.
I think I will read all of the Robotech books in our library eventually and hope to one day get to watch the anime.
Favorite character overall is Minmei.Reminds me of both Flay and Lacus.
Dana is my second favorite character now.

[Technomancer]

"Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design" by Barbara Forrest and Paul R. Gross.

I'm also reading through, "Spike, Decisions and Actions: Dynamical Foundations of Neuroscience" by Hugh R. Wilson. And I came across a really neat paper on liquid state machines

[Ingemar]

Interesting title. Antony Flew, long-time atheist philosopher-turned theist (who, mind you, STILL is not a Christian, nor acknowledges the God of Judaism/Christianity/Islam) has opened up to a theory of ID, which he believes is compatible with secularist cosmology as it is today.

[Technomancer]

Interesting title. Antony Flew, long-time atheist philosopher-turned theist (who, mind you, STILL is not a Christian, nor acknowledges the God of Judaism/Christianity/Islam) has opened up to a theory of ID, which he believes is compatible with secularist cosmology as it is today.

Well, it might work in a philosophical sense but what matters is whether the scientific claims can hold up to scrutiny, which is where ID has consistenly fallen down. As far as the book goes, it's interesting but being a discussion of other people's scientific errors it's not exactly enthralling.

[Scribs]

I just finished Fathers and Sons, but unfortunatly I will now have to read the essay Fathers and Children *weeps*

[Namelessknight]

Just finished Michael Stackpole's latest A Secret Atlas

This one i found very enjoyable. Instead of his usual medieval europe setting, its more based on Japanese culture-lots of bowing and caste system going on. some south american stuff thrown in too. I loved it.

and for the best part-it's hardback from the sfbc. i hate these massmarket paperbacks that you read once, then the spine is gone and you're afraid to open again. plus, mmp's are so stinkin' expensive for what you get. Hardback is the way to go!! I want my grandkids[here's to hoping God gives me a wife so i can eventually have grandkids ;-)] to be able to read my book collection.

[mitsuki lover]

Started on Stepping Stones:The Pilgrims In Their Own Words.A must for those interested in American history.

[Ingemar]

Civilization and its Discontents by Sigmund Freud, just after finishing The Communist Manifesto by Marx/Engels.

[Lady Arianrod]

"The Neverending Story" by Michael Ende. It's an excellent book about imagination and fantasy... very imaginative and colorful. I recommend it to all fantasy fans.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Romeo and Juliet...

gosh i hate this book...

piloswine... you read the wrong book??? o_O

[Kaori]

The Sorrow of War, by Bao Ninh. This book has been compared to All Quiet on the Western Front, but its fragmented storyline reminds me far more of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. It is interesting that Bao's writing is fairly similar to O'Brien's, since they are writing on opposite sides of the conflict.

[Ducky]

I just read Flyboys by James Bradely for western civ, reading war books always seems to give me a whole new perspective on war and how much it truly isn't a thing. I'm also reading Candide and i've found that Voltaire makes me laugh at the sheer audacity of his characters.

[uc pseudonym]

Last night I read the entirity of Animal Farm. While I found it interesting and quickly paced, I was disappointed in that it felt somewhat redundant after reading 1984. There was new material, certainly, but not quite enough to carry a seperate book, in my opinion. Still, an enjoyable read.

[Ingemar]

I would like to comment on Civilization and its Discontents.

I found it more interesting than Commumanifesto (OK, they're about two different topics, but still!). I like some of Freud's insights, and others I really don't like. This is probably an unfair assessment, but Freud appears very sex-obssessed. Libidinal drive, and all that. I have more to say, but there are other things I want to attend to at the moment.

[Lady Arianrod]

I just finished The Neverending Story and I've started Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It certainly seems like an interesting book...

[Kaori]

Tonight I read a handful of short stories by twentieth century British authors (James Joyce, Virginia Wolf, D. H. Lawrence) and reread Heart of Darkness. My admiration for the book has not diminished.

[Indigo_Eyes]

I have just started on Dragonflight by Anne McCAffrey. It took a while for it to be checked back into the library, but I finally got it I've heard a lot of good things about the Dragonriders of Pern series.